Manchester U. Students Struck, Killed While Fixing Flat
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
FAIRMOUNT – Three Manchester University international students were killed and another injured Sunday morning when a van driven by a man who authorities say was intoxicated struck them, officials said. At 5:23 a.m. Sunday, a two-car crash was reported to the Grant County Sheriff’s Department on the I-69 northbound lane near the 253 mile marker, according to a press release provided. Preliminary investigation shows a passenger van was broken down with what appeared to be a flat front driver’s side tire. The van was partially off of the roadway toward the median. The release states the seven occupants were outside the vehicle, with three to the rear area of the vehicle and four along the driver’s side. Another passenger van that was northbound on I-69, south of the broken down vehicle, left the roadway to the west into the median and struck four of the students. The speed of the vehicle at the time of impact could not be determined, but the posted speed limit for the roadway is 70 mph, the release states. Three of the occupants died at the scene, and the fourth was flown to Lutheran Hospital, Fort Wayne, from the crash site. An email from Manchester University President Dave McFadden stated the accident claimed the lives of students Nerad Grace Mangai, Brook M. Dagnew and Kirubel Alemayehu Hailu. Manchester student Israel Solomon Tamire was flown from the scene and was being treated for injuries at Lutheran Hospital. A spokesperson for Lutheran Hospital this morning stated he was in critical condition. Three other students, Nebiyu Shiferaw Alemu, Amanuel Atsbha Gebreyohannes and Dagmawi Meseret Tadesse, were not injured and have returned to North Manchester, according to McFadden’s letter. All of the students are from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, except for Mangai, a sophomore biology-chemistry major from Jos, Nigeria. Dagnew was a sophomore majoring in biology-chemistry and Hailu was a first-year medical technology major. A gathering for the Manchester University community was held Sunday evening. In his letter, McFadden said the students had been to Ball State University and Taylor University earlier and were northbound on I-69, heading back to North Manchester. “We can’t begin to understand the tragic loss of Nerad, Brook and Kirubel, young lives so full of promise. The MU community grieves their passing and will miss them deeply,” McFadden’s letter states. The driver of the other vehicle, Deangelo R. Evans, 26, Chicago, Ill., was transported to Marion General Hospital where he was treated for minor injuries and released from the hospital. Evans was charged with three counts of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated causing death, one count of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated resulting in serious bodily injury and three counts of reckless homicide. His bond was set at $300,000 and he is being held in the Grant County Jail. The crash investigation was conducted by the Grant County Sheriff’s Department, Accident Team 2, Road Division and the Detective Division. Assisting in the investigation was the Grant County prosecutor, Marion Police Department, Fairmount Police Department, Indiana State Police, Mathews Fire Department, Upland Fire Department, Grant County Medic 7 and 8, Marion General Hospital, Parkview Lutheran Air Ambulance and Hospital and the Grant County Coroner’s Office. The release states the investigation is still active.
